Yum! Yum!

What kid doesn't like making cookies?

Magic!

Our children are pretty good sleepers. It's been a work-in progress, but I think we have mastered this very challenging parental task. At least for now, until we move to a new home and have a baby, and then we will start all over again. Every so often they may wake up and I usually relish in this time and enjoy the extra snuggles and rock-a-byes in the middle of the night. Sometimes I deal with just one child, sometimes with both. Notice how I say "I"? I won't say that I "always" get up with the kids, because Tyler and I have agreed to remove that word from our vocabulary when we are talking about each other, so I will say about 99% of the time I get up with the kids. Anyway, these midnight lovey times started to include:

A) extra long rock-a-bye sessions that wouldn't lead to sleeping which would then turn to
B) children joining us in bed, which isn't my favorite, so I started to
C) put them back to bed awake....

Makenzie has been accepting of this and will go back to sleep. Jordan on the other hand has had a problem. He screams and cries and throws in all out tantrum, which doesn't happen at any other going-to-bed time. I hate for that to go on for too long at night, because then the whole household will be awake much longer. So what was I to do? The experts tell me to let him cry it out... and eventually over time his tantrums will lessen, yada yada yada.

Well a few weeks back, for some reason, my husband decided to actually get up and help me with the situation. In his low and groggy "you woke me up" voice, he told Jordan, "Lay down." Jordan quickly obeyed as Tyler tucked him in with his favorite blanket. We both left the room and didn't hear a peep from him until morning! That was all it took... Dad going in there to lay down the law! I was appalled... it was magic!

So since then, Jordan has gotten up a few more times, and each time I shake my husband out of his slumbering sleep so he can work his magic! It is so simple that it makes me laugh... He does the same thing by using his low serious voice and telling him to go to sleep. Now I wish all the other parental challenges were that easy to conquer!

Happy BOO to you!

Makenzie never thought this day would come, but alas, her 4th birthday was today! She enjoyed eating her favorite meals today and having preschool at her house. All her friends dressed up in costumes and we had a Halloween-themed party.

Makenzie decided to be a princess. She got her "Jack" cake, and I decided to throw in "Sally" as well.
We played a few games with the kids, one of which I called, "Scoop the Ghost Poop."

It consisted of emptying out the lima beans into another bowl. We did a race with the boys vs. the girls. The girls weren't so interested in scooping "poop." You should have seen their faces! Makenzie has enjoyed all her presents. It's been an easy day in keeping her and Jordan entertained.

As we were putting her to bed tonight, she started talking about what she wanted to do for her 5th birthday!

Spring Break at it's finest!

We decided to stay close-to-home for Tyler's Spring Break week. We have kept him very busy! Here is a quick recap on the latest happenings with us:

Tyler has one more quarter of school work to go! He will be done May 22 and then he will spend 3 weeks prepping for the big board exams in June. He has been staying very busy with the Young Men's organization. This last Saturday, he enjoyed a Stake Basketball Tournament that was 3 hours away. They played 5 games, which brought them home as champions. Tyler also has been dedicating time with the missionaries. His cousin is still here, so it's been nice to go on appointments with them. For his break, Tyler has been enjoying watching Redbox movies every night, learning more about his iPhone, and watching the March Madness basketball games.

I just started my second master's class this week. It seems similar to the other one, so it shouldn't be bad. My life doesn't seem as hectic as it has been the last few months; maybe it's because I'm feeling much better with being pregnant. I'm 5 months along and we got an ultrasound this week. We are happy to announce that we are having .......
a healthy baby!!! Sorry to disappoint you... but the gender is unknown until the birth; although Makenzie states it like a fact, "The baby is a girl." I hope that day in July isn't a sad one for her. I have no inklings on the gender and am completely satisfied on just having a baby!

Makenzie's birthday is on Tuesday; stay tuned with pictures of her Halloween party and "Jack" cake. I've thrown out many other ideas, but she has still been stuck on this one. She is so excited! We bought her a big girl bike this week as part of her birthday.She is adjusting to it and learning out to use the brakes. We have enjoyed some nice Spring weather this week. We are starting to be sprinkled with a few good days every week. My daughter has a really bad habit, which consists of this.... She hates wearing shoes! Wherever we go, they are off in 2 seconds. This includes the park, the library, and church. I have lost so many pairs of socks, that I've given up putting them on half the time. Sometimes I have even forgotten her shoes, because I didn't even know they were off. I did get her a pair of sneakers that she hates because she can't get them off. I only put them on when I know for sure I don't want to deal with bare feet.

Our little man Jords continues to stay busy. He loves having his Daddy around more this week.
He is becoming an expert at the computer. Without me knowing, he got on the internet, clicked on the pbs.org bookmark, and was maneuvering around the website quite well! I was in awe when I caught him. He must have learned from his sister. He continues to learn much more from her. He is our little track star and sprints faster than we can usually keep up. Because of this I never thought I would become one of those parents who used one of these....

BUT after several times losing him within 30 seconds of putting him down, I knew something had to be done. While at Tyler's school, he ran off and found the elevator. I just knew when he disappeared, that was where he went. Luckily a student who knew us found him on the third floor (when I was in the basement). Another time at the school, after making the rounds and getting quite frantic when I couldn't find him, a female student brought him to where the activity was and said she found him in the female restroom with the lights off. To say the least, I think it scared her more than him. SO.... whenever you see poor little children leashed, please have pity on the parents. Makenzie loves walking her "puppy" and Jordan likes it a lot better when she does it, instead of me.

Well... that is us for now. Ta Ta.

1/12th Done!

As of 5 minutes ago, I finished my last assignment for my first master's class!  Can I tell you how I feel right now!  I really shouldn't glory in my hard work, because Tyler is behind me studying away for like his 20th class in medical school.  For now I get to enjoy three coveted weeks off before hitting "the book" again.  Yep... just one measly class at a time.  Only 11 more to go... hopefully I can survive.  At times I wonder what I got myself into making the choice to go back to school.  It definitely pushes and stretches me to learn more and understand.

I have recognized and become much more grateful of Tyler with all that he sacrifices as he dedicates himself to medical school right now.  It was his choice to come.  It is often hard and we may question if it is the right thing for us.  It is quickly confirmed to us that it is.  Thanks Love for all that you do!  You are the best hubby and Daddy and med student!    

My Birthday Boys!

It's always good to have a little celebration and fun during the drag of winter time. We got to have double the fun with Jordan's birthday yesterday and Tyler's today. The cake saga continues with Makenzie. She informed me that Jordan wanted a "Baby Einstein" cake. I made a caterpillar out of cupcakes to represent the Baby Einstein caterpillar, even though it didn't really look like it. We enjoyed a small family party and Makenzie has enjoyed his presents as if they were her own.






I'm assuming Tyler had a good day. He got an iphone a few months ago and that constituted as his birthday gift. I didn't want him to go presentless on his actual birthday, so we bought him some new socks. Makenzie didn't keep the secret too well and told him several times what he was getting this past week. We celebrated by giving him 27 reasons why we love him. Guess why? :) We then went out to dinner at a good Mexican restaraunt. The kids actually behaved quite well since they had tortilla chips and chocolate milk- two of their favorite foods. Tyler had to be to the Young Men's activity, so we followed him and celebrated with an ice cream cake with all the boys.

I love my boys! Happy Birthday!

Pick a cake, ANY cake!

Makenzie has been talking about her birthday since Christmas. It is March 24th. Whenever we went to the store, I could easily weasle her out of the common toy fiasco that happens in stores with kids by saying, "Ask Santa for Christmas." Well, this still works except I say, "Ask it for your birthday." The 20 requests I get each time are usually forgotten as we walk out the store.

I'm not much of a cake-maker, but I usually try and make something special for their big day. In December, Makenzie attended her friend's birthday party which had a horse theme. For several weeks after Makenzie insisted that she will have a horsey birthday as well, including a horsey cake.


Well, a few weeks after Christmas, she found my cake decorating kit. She wanted me to make a cake right then. I mentioned I will make her one for her birthday, which then she informed me she wanted to have a Wall-E cake. She said her horsey cake can be for another birtday. Okay, I thought. My sister-in-law did a Wall-E birthday for her girl, so I could just copy off her and it would be fine.


Well, the birthday conversation was brought up again this week. Makenzie was sitting on the toilet doing her business while I was doing my hair. She was telling me what she wanted for her birthday... and then I tried finishing her sentence by saying, "And you want a Wall-E cake." She then said, "No, Mom. I want a Jack cake!" Who is Jack, you may ask? My child is fascinated in scary things. I don't know why, but it for sure doesn't scare her right now. Tyler got the movie, "A Nightmare Before Christmas" for Christmas. Makenzie has claimed this movie as her own and insists to watch it everyday (not that I let her!). Jack is one of the main characters.


What 3-year old girl would want a skeleton cake? I just have to laugh. I guess I could just do his head. It would be really easy. She still has a month and a half to change her mind again. I'll keep you posted as to what will be the final deal! Aren't children fun?!